The Hebrew Neighborhood: The Concert of Powers, Phoenicians, and Canaan
The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind
The great empires of the Ancient Near East begin to mingle as we move forward from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. Rabbi Rocklin will help us explore the following questions: 1. How were the Jews, a relatively small and inconsequential people, able to march into the land of Canaan and conquer the local tribes? 2. What did each of the five major empires that made up the Concert of Powers contribute to the development of the Ancient Near East? How did those developments affect the Jewish people? 3. Why are the Phoenicians credited with originating the alphabet?
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Egypt Through the Middle Kingdom: Memphite Theology and The Story of Sinuhe
The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind
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Eastern Origins and Biblical Clash: The West’s Roots in the Ancient Near East
The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind
In this next episode, we go back to the roots of civilization with an overview of the great kingdoms of the Ancient Near East. We’ll find answers to the following questions: 1. How did the Code of Hammurabi begin to push civilization forward, and in what ways was the Code deeply flawed? 2. How do the laws in the Code of Hammurabi compare to the laws laid out in the Hebrew Bible? 3. How do the differences between Babylonian and Biblical law highlight the difference in the pagan and Jewish perspectives on the value of human life?
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Revitalizing the West by Rediscovering Its Jewish Roots
The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind
What does it mean to live well as a human being? The covenantal Jew introduced a new answer that fundamentally shaped the West. In today’s episode, Rabbi Rocklin will also help us answer the following questions: Why is creativity the inevitable imperative that results from the covenantal relationship with God? What role does religion, and specifically Judaism, play in western civilization? What will it take to revitalize the west? More importantly, why should we care to revitalize it?
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The Jew in the West: His Covenant, Place, Influence, and Responsibility
The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind
In today’s episode, Rabbi Rocklin explores how pagans and Jews differ on the relationship between man and God. Together, we’ll discover answers to the following questions: What is a covenant? How is the Jew’s relationship to God framed through the covenant? Does God depend on man to be manifest in the world, or is just fine without man? How does the uniquely Jewish perception of God’s relationship with man fundamentally transform the west?
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Cult and Culture
The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind
In today’s episode, Rabbi Rocklin examines the concept of "culture" and its relationship to religion. Together we'll explore: What does the word "culture" mean, such that we use it with regards to both bacteria and humans? How does the busyness of civilized man impact his relationship to religion? What unique concept is found within Judaism that was essential to the development of the West?
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Why the West? Its Greatness and Openness to Culture
The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind
In today’s episode, Rabbi Rocklin asks, “What makes Western culture worth studying and preserving?” You’ll discover answers to the following questions: In what ways has Western self-criticism been formative and positive? Should we understand the West to be narrowly introspective or uniquely open to other cultures? How has the West been shaped by the conviction that God is in search of man?
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An Introduction to The Pillars
The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind
Eric Cohen, Tikvah’s CEO, joins Rabbi Dr. Mitchell Rocklin to introduce the Pillars podcast: a systematic journey through the unfolding drama of Western civilization. Along the way, they discuss Plato’s Apology, Virgil’s Aeneid, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, and how the Jewish people’s civilizational impact has been a source of blessing to the nations and offers hope for today.
info_outlineIn today’s episode, Rabbi Rocklin examines the concept of "culture" and its relationship to religion. Together we'll explore:
- What does the word "culture" mean, such that we use it with regards to both bacteria and humans?
- How does the busyness of civilized man impact his relationship to religion?
- What unique concept is found within Judaism that was essential to the development of the West?